Brush forming apparatus



Jan. 11, 1938. R. 'r. SCULLY ET AL BRUSH FORMING APPARATUS Filed Dec.14, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet l By Wan-'25 444 6 A TTORNEY.

Jan. 11, 1938. R. T. SCULLY ET AL BRUSH FORMING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 14,1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 WAN/MARY. T4 3 W 5 m 721 F 1, E 4 2W Jan. 11,1938.

R. T. SCULLY El AL BRUSH FORMING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 14, 1955 4Sheets-Sheet 3 8 R mu? w 3 m T 17% A Z 54;. P57

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BRUSH FORMING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 14, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet- 4 INVENTORS.P555 7 $cu4 y BY MLTCZS AAA/6 A TTORNEY Patented Jan. 11, 1938 UNITESTATES PATENT OFFlCE 12 Claims.

Our invention relates to brush forming apparatus particularly designedfor the manufacture of circular, cylindrical or rotary brushes of thetype in which looped brush material bristles, i. e.,.hair, wire, fibre,etc., are disposed on the periphery of a core or brush body and maintained in position thereon by suitable means, such for example, as abinding wire.

In the commercial manufacture of brushes of the type specified, it hasbeen the practice to apply looped bristles to grooves on the core orbrush body by hand; the operator looping quantities of bristles beneaththe clamping wire during the winding of the latter into the grooves.

- This practice in addition to being slow and costly is objectionable inthat it is very diificult to effeet, a uniform distribution andthickness of the layer of bristles applied.

Our invention contemplates a machine wherein we provide automaticallyoperable mechanism for feeding and applying bristles to the periphery ofthe core or brush body, or to the grooves thereof, in an effective andexpeditious manner and at the same time maintaining a uniform quantityof bristles and an even distribution thereof for each of the loopedmasses of bristles.

Among the novel features of our invention are; a picker device forcontinuous delivery of a uniform layer of bristles from a source ofsupply; a bending member for looping the bristles beneath and upwardlyaround a clamping wire; and a feed screw means for receiving andconveying the bristles in a continuous layer from the picker device tothe bending member, coacting with the latter for maintaining the loopedbristles in parallel relation, and supporting and conveying the loopedbristles in the said relation from the bending member to a rotatingbrush core to be filled.

By the use of the feed screws, we are enabled to accurately provide aconstantly uniform feed or travel of the bristles identical with theperipheral speed of the receiving core, and by simple speed adjustment,the apparatus is readily adapted to the filling of brush cores or bodiesof various diameters.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description taken 'in. connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

5 Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of our invention, showing thesame associated with a cylindrical brush core for application ofbristles thereto; v

'Fig. 2, a part elevational and part sectional view, the section beingindicated by the line II- II of Fig. 1, and showing the bristles beingapplied to the receiving core;

Fig. 3, an elevational view of a preferred form of apparatus forrotating the brush core during the application of bristles thereto;

Fig. 4, a cross-section taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive, enlarged detail sectional views taken on linesV-V, VI-VI, VII-VII,

VIII-VIE and IXIX respectively of Fig. 2, 10

illustrating successive positions in the travel of the bristles from thepicker device to the receiving core, as hereinafter more specificallydescribed;

Fig. 10, an enlarged detail view of the picker 15 adjustment; and

Fig. 11, a diagrammatic view showing a means of driving the screwconveyor device.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates generally a bristle supplydevice, including parallel spaced upper and lower feed bars or ways 3and 4, providing a passage 5 therebetween for passage of the straightbristles a. The bristles may be inserted in the passage 5 by hand or bygravity feed from a hopper 6, being moved forwardly in said passage bymeans of a weighted pusher or 5 head I. The bristles are fed intransverse relation to the bars 3 and 4, and are centrally supported bythe latter. Suitable guides B confine the ends of the bristles formaintaining the same substantially parallel and even. 30

Positioned at the forward or discharge end of the passage 5 and in theplane of the bristle-supporting bar 4, we provide a rotary picker devicein the form of a toothed wheel ID, the latter being located midway andslightly above the rear ends of a pair of spaced horizontal feed screwsor conveyors H and I2. The bristles are fed into the provided spaces orpockets l3 between picker teeth of the wheel ID by the action of thefeeder head I, and are rotated or carried downwardly for dischargetransversely onto the upper surfaces of the feed screws II and I2.

For the purpose of supporting the bristles in their travel with thepicker and for discharge 45 therefrom, the forward end of the lower feedbar 4 is provided with a downwardly extending arouate ramp l4,terminating at its lower forward end midway between the rear ends of thefeed screws and slightly below the upper surfaces 5 thereof. At itsupper end, the ramp is spaced from the picker circumference only forclearance, but the space gradually increases downwardly to a maximum atthe terminal end of the ramp. 55

Supported from the upper bar 3 by adjustable connections I5, we providea pair of arcuate fingers I 6, one on either side of the picker til, thecurved edges 1) of which are substantially coinplemental with theforward surface of, the ramp I4, to form a bristle passage 5a.therebetween, said edges b of the fingers however being eccentricallydisposed with relation to the periphery of the picker. The bristles willbe out of the open ends of the pockets at a point above the uppersurfaces of the feed screws, whereby the bristles carried by the pickerIG are deposited onto the screws.

It will be readily seen in Figs. 2 and 10, that by varying the positionof the fingers IS with respect to the pockets I3 of the picker i and theramp I4, the volume of the bristle feed may be adjusted in accordancewith the requirements of the brush or brushes to be filled, and abristle layer of any desired thickness or volume may be thereby appliedto the feed screws. The upper feed bar 3 may also be adjustedby itssuspensionbrackets I'I tovary the bristle passage 5 as desired. Suitableguide plates 8a confine the ends of the bristles during their travel inthe picker,

device to insure-proper alinement.

The feed screws H and I2 are mounted at their rear ends in suitablebearings I 8 and are provided with meshing gears I9 and 20 respectively.The screws are of different form, screw II being of right-hand threadand screw I2 being of lefthand thread, and are designed to be rotated insynchronism' in opposite directions for the purpose of simultaneouslyadvancing corresponding portions of each, thereby conveying the bristlelayer longitudinally while maintaining said bristles transverselythereof without angulation or separation. 3

2I designates a bending device in the form of a disk which is mountedfor rotation between the feed screws II and I2 forwardly of the pickerIt). This bending device or disk has a peripheral groove 22 forreceiving a continuous strand of bristle clamping wire 23 fed from atension roll 24. The wire 23 passes along the under portion of the diskbetween the feed screws and thence outwardly to the brush core or coresection A, where it is secured by any suitable means 25 within thebristle-receiving groove 25 thereof. wire is wound several times uponthe roll 26 and is fed thereto from a reel or other source of supply(not shown) through afriction clamp 21. Roll 24 is mounted on atransverse shaft, which shaft is secured by its ends in adjustable splitbearings 28 adapted for regulating the required tension on the wire.

In addition to'the peripheral groove 22 the bending disk 2| ispreferably serrated, providing fine teeth 29 for positive engagementwith the unsupported center portions of the bristles a, the

latter'being presented transversely to the rotation of the disk by thefeed screws II and I2. Bb'

designates suitable guides for the bristle ends during their travel fromthe picker iii to the bending disk 2|.

The action of the bending disk BI is clearly illustrated in Figs. 2, 7,and 8, wherein it is shown that the disk bends'the bristles centrallydownward between the feed screws for looping the bristles beneath theclamping wire 23 carried by the disk. Since the direction of rotation ofadjacent portions of the feed screws I I and i2 isupward, as indicatedby the arrows, the resulting wiping action thereof urges the lower orlooped portions of the bristles a upwardly into firm con- The tact withthe clamping wire 23, and the frictional contact thus obtained issufiicient to support said bristles during theremainder of their travelby the feed screws to the receiving core A.

In this manner, the bristles are looped and uniformly applied to theclamping wire 23, and by reason of the synchronized action of the feedscrews, the terminal portions or ends of the bristles are positioned andmaintained in correct upright position, normal to the clamping Wire.

Feed screws H and I2 preferably extend beyond the disk 2I to a pointdirectly over the brush core A, and are supported a distance back fromtheir free ends by backing-up rolls or worm gears 30. These gears meshwith and aid in supporting the screws, while preventing any separationthereof due to the thrust applied particularly during the bending orlooping of the bristles. While we prefer to employ feed screws of thetapered form illustrated, straight or uniform diameter feed screws maybe satisfactorilyemployed without departing from our invention. Thetapered screws having small terminal ends, have the added advantage ofminimizing interference with the bristles being applied to the core A,as shown in Fig. 9. The reduced ends of the screws pass through thepreviously applied bristles on the rotating core without injury to thesame.

In operation, the core or core section A, is rotated by any suitablemeans at a constant predetermined speed. Hence, knowing the lead ornumber of threads per inch of the feed screws and the circumference ofthe core A, it is possible to adjust the speed of the screws to feed thebristles a at the peripheral speed of the core; and since the clampingwire 23 is secured to the circumference of and driven by the core, thewire and bristles travel at the same rate of speed.

Likewise, the picker I0 and bending disk 2I are driven at a peripheralspeed equal to the feed of the screws, whereby it will be seen that theen- 34 on this shaft drives one of the feed screw gears I 9 through anidler 35, and gear I9 in turn drives the other feed screw gear 20, as inFig. 11.

A worm 38 on shaft 33 drives a cross shaft 31 by a worm gear 38, andsaid shaft also drives the picker shaft 39 by a sprocket and chain drive40. 4| indicates a sprocket and chain drive for driv-' ing the bendingdisk shaft 42 from the picker shaft 39.

The respective drive ratios of the mechanism are so'proportioned as tosynchronize the periph.-

eral speeds of the picker and bending disk with the feed of the screwsII and I2 for'the purpose described. Adjustment of the mechanism forfilling brush cores of various diameters is effected by simpleadjustment of the variable speed device 31, as will be readilyunderstood.

Various means may be provided for mounting and rotating the brush coresfor filling by the device described. For example, we have illustrated aframe or bed B having longitudinalrails or ways 43 upon which a carriageC is slidably mounted, this carriage comprising a tail stock 44 and ahead stock 45 connected by suitable members Both the head and tailstocks are provided with upper and lower rollers 41 for engaging therails 43 for longitudinal movement of the carriage thereon.

Suitable centering devices are provided in the tail and stocks forrotatably supporting the brush body r core A therebetween. and themembers have adjustable means 48 in connection with the tail stock. 44,for accommodating the carriage to cores of various lengths.

The shaft 43 of the head stock is mounted for rotation in suitablebearings, and mounts a pulley driven from a second pulley by a belt 5'2.The pulley El is slidably mounted on a square or splined drive shaft 53between spaced abutments on the carriage, said pulley having a pluralityrollers 55 for assisting in the; sliding action thereof.

The drive shaft 53 is driven at constant speed by a motor P through aspeed reducing device diagra matically indicated at 56. The weight ofthe rlage and the core A thereon is counter- I balanced by a weight W tofacilitate sliding thereof.

In filling brush cores or core sections having a ingle circular groove,it is merely necessary to rotate the through one revolution, but inother cores such as the cylindrical spiral grooved core illustrated, italso becomes necesessary to translate said core longitudinally.

For this purpose, we prefer to employ a variable f suitable form,including a toothed rack nted on and extending longitudinally of thecarriage C, and movable by a meshing gear 6 l.

5i, and therefore the rack and carriage, aw driven from the shaft 53 bya variable belt drive or other suitable means, through connecting bevelgearing 63, whereby the carriage and its core A may be translated at aregulated speed. During such movement, the drive pulley 5i slides alongits shaft 53, and at the same time drives the pulley 59 to rotate thecore A, the speeds of translation and rotation of the core Abeingconstant during the entire filling operation.

The brush filling mechanism is mounted in any suitable manner adjacentthe bed B of the core rotating device, with the feed screws H and i2thereof extending transversely of and terminating directly over the coreA. In order to accommodate the filling mechanism to cores of variousdiameters, the base or plate 58 mounting this mechanism, as well as themotor M and variable speed means iii, are vertically adjustable by meansof threaded supports 59 or the like.

In. operation, the clamping wire 23 is threaded in the machine andsecured by means 25 to the core A in one terminal end of thebristle-receiving groove and suitable tension is applied thereto bymeans 28 associated with roll 2 2.

The bristle feed mechanism is started, and a continuous layer ofbristles a is fed through the bending disk 2i and thence to the core Ain looped relation. Upon the bristles reaching the core the latter isrotated by motor P, and with both feed mechanism and core in motion, thespiral groove is continuously filled until completed, whereupon themotors P and M are shut off and the wire 23 is secured to the core tocomplete and secure the filling of the brush.

It will thus be seen that by our invention, the bristles areautomatically and uniformly fed and filled into the grooved receivingcore, where they are tightly secured by the tension of the clampingWire.

Various changes and modifications are contemplated within the scope ofthe following claims.

We claim:

1. In brush making apparatus, means for supporting and rotating a brushcore, a screw conveyor including a pair of screw threaded membersleading directly to the core for conveying and depositing bristles ontothe core, a bristle bending disk disposed intermediate the ends of theconveyor between the screws and cooperating therewith for bending andlooping bristles prior to deposit on the core, said screw members beingclosely spaced to engage opposite sides of the loop portions of thebristles, and means for feeding a wire under tension to the bristles,said bending disk acting against the tension on the wire.

2. In brush making apparatus. means for supporting and rotating a brushcore, a screw conveyor including a pair of oppositely rotatable screwthreaded tapered members leading directly to the core for conveying anddepositing bristles onto the core, a bristle bending member disposedintermediate the ends of the conveyor between the screws and cooperatingtherewith for looping bristles prior to deposit on the core, said screwmembers being closely spaced to engage opposite sides of the loopportion of the bristles, and means for feeding a wire under tension tothe bent bristles.

3. In brush making apparatus, means for supporting and rotating a brushcore, means for conveying and depositing bristles directly onto the corecomprising a pair of oppositely rotatable spaced screw threaded members.a rotatable bristle bending member operable between the screws andcoacting with the threaded members for looping the bristles prior.todeposit on the core. said screw members being closely spaced to engageopposite sides of the loop portion of the bristles and to convey thebristles after being looped, and wire feeding means for feeding a wireto the bent bristles.

4. In brush making apparatus, the combination with a rotating brush corehaving grooves on the periphery thereof, of a pair of closely spacedoppositely threaded and oppositely rotating feed screws for deliveringbristles directly to the grooves of the core, the feed of the screwsbeing equal to the peripheral speed of said rotating core, and arotatable bristle bending member cooperating with the screws anddisposed inter mediate of the ends thereof.

5. In brush making apparatus, the combina-' tion with a rotating brushcore, of a pair of closely spaced feed screws, a picker device fordelivering uniform layers of bristles onto and transversely of thescrews, a bending member disposed intermediate the ends of the screwsfor looping said bristles between the feed screws and about a clampingwire, said looped bristles being supported by the feed screws andconveyed thereby directly to the rotating core.

6. In brush making apparatus, the combination with a rotating brushcore, of a pair of closely spaced feed screws, 2. picker device fordelivering bristles onto and transversely of the screws, a rotatingbending disk disposed intermediate of the ends of the screws for loopingsaid bristles between the feed screws and about a clamping wire, saidlooped bristles being engaged on opposite sides thereof by the feedscrews and conveyed thereby directly to the rotating core.

7. In brush making apparatus, the combination with a rotating brushcore, of a pair of closely spaced feed screws, a picker device and meansassociated therewith for delivering bristles in uniform layers onto andtransversely of the screws, a rotating bending disk disposedintermediate of the ends of the screws for looping said bristles betweenthe feed screws and about a clamping wire secured to the core, saidlooped bristles being supported by the feed screws and conveyed therebydirectly to the rotating core, the peripheral speed of the bending diskand the feed of the screws being equal to the peripheral speed of saidcore.

8. In a brush making apparatus, a screw conveyor, means for deliveringbristles onto the conveyor in uniform layers, and a bristle bendingmember associated with the screw conveyor, said delivering means beingadjustable to change the 7 thickness of the layers of bristles.

9. In brush making apparatus, the combination with a rotating brushcore, of a clamping wire adapted to be wound upon said core undertension, means spaced from the core for bending and looping a supply ofbristles beneath the wire, and means for supporting and conveying saidlooped bristles from the bending means to the core, said conveyor meansincluding a pair of rotating screw members engaging the bristles onopposite sides of their looped portions, said members rotating inopposite directions in frictional contact with said bristles, wherebythe looped portions of the bristles are maintained in contact with theclamping wire.

10. In brush making apparatus, the combination with a rotating brushcore, of a clamping wire adapted to be wound upon said core undertension, means spaced from the core for bending and looping a supply ofbristles beneath the wire, and means for supporting and conveying saidlooped bristles from the bending means to the core, said conveyor meansincluding a pair of oppositely threaded and oppositely rotating feedscrews for frictionally engaging the bristles, whereby the loopedportions of the bristles are maintained in contact with the clampingwire.

11. In brush making apparatus, the combination with a rotating brushcore, of a clamping wire adapted to be wound upon said core undertension, means spaced from the core for bending and looping a supply ofbristles beneath the wire,

and means for supporting and conveying said looped bristles from thebending means to the core, said conveyor means including a pair ofoppositely threaded and oppositely rotating feed screws for frictionallyengaging the bristles, whereby the looped portions of the bristles aremaintained in contact with the clamping wire, the feed of the screwsbeing equal to the travel of said wire.

12. In a brush making apparatus, the combination with a rotatable brushbody, means-for rotating the brush body at a predetermined speed, ascrew conveyor for brush bristles, means for delivering bristles to theconveyor, said conveyor extending from the delivery means to the brushbody, means for looping said bristles disposed intermediate of the endsof the conveyor, and means for rotating the screw conveyor and thelooping means synchronously with the rotation of the brush body.

REES T. SCULLY. WALTER S. LANG.

